175th Anniversary Celebration

On Saturday the 19th of September 2015 Artcore’s Invisible Boundaries project celebrated 175 years of the Arboretum Park, Derby at the Orangery with the people of Derby. This was a free family event engaging communities in learning the Park’s history through art. There was an opportunity to meet the artists who have been involved in developing sculptures in the park and view their sculptures as well as viewing works which are developed by the community groups involved with the project.

Those who were involved included people who took part in the National Citizenship Scheme through to local schools and those who took the opportunity to be involved with the public workshop which the six resident’s artists arranged.

The six artists who partook in the residences are from the East Midlands: John Newling, Andrew Tebbs, David Booth, Ivan Smith, Jane Smith and Katie Harrison. On Saturday the public were able to see the final pieces which the artists had produce and discuss the process which they reached to achieve their goal. This allowed the public to take a different perspective on the project Invisible Boundaries.

It was a successful day with the community of all ages and backgrounds coming together to celebrate the Park. With the weather being in Artcore’s favour, it allowed the space of the Park to be used to display the artwork and for family actives to take place. This supported one of the aims of the day; to bring the community together, which may have been one of the aspirations Strutt had when he donated the Park 175 years ago.